Most microactuator arrays, used as MEMS devices, are fabricated in silicon. Despite the many favorable attributes of silicon, however, it is not always a suitable or ideal material for every application of MEMS. Silicon is brittle and subject to breaking, particularly as the total device size increases. This brittleness limits devices, especially actuators, to relatively small sizes capable of only small displacements and forces. The shapes that can be realized in silicon are typically restricted by crystalline planes or 2-D fabrication processes, and more complicated structures often result in prohibitively high cost and low yield.
It would be of great advantage to the art if another material, other than silicon, could be used for MEMS and actuators.
It would be another great advance in the art if the material would not be brittle and subject to breaking, thus not limiting the size and therefore the displacement and force of the final device. Other advantages will appear hereinafter.